CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers on Saturday (Feb 1) rejected the transfer of Palestinians from their land under any circumstances, presenting a unified stance against United States President Donald Trump’s call for Egypt and Jordan to take in residents of the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement following a meeting in Cairo, the foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League said such a move would threaten stability in the region, spread conflict and undermine prospects for peace.
“We affirm our rejection of (any attempts) to compromise Palestinians’ unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, or evictions or annex of land or through vacating the land from its owners … in any form or under any circumstances or justifications,” the joint statement read.
They were looking forward to working with Trump’s administration to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution, they added.
The meeting comes after Trump said last week that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment that rendered most of its 2.3 million people homeless. Critics have called his suggestion tantamount to ethnic cleansing.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday rejected the idea that Egypt would facilitate the displacement of Gazans and said Egyptians would take to the streets to express their disapproval.
However, on Thursday, Trump reiterated the idea, saying: “We do a lot for them, and they are going to do it”, in apparent reference to abundant US aid, including military assistance, to both Egypt and Jordan.